Philip Summers

I knew Metroid II was special before I played it. My grade school had a yearly field trip to the roller rink. These trips were particularly special for me because not only was it the one time of year I could skate, but they also had an incredible arcade. Even if I didn’t have quarters, I’d still spend the time watching other people play and bask in the glory of the rink: the sound of the machines roaring, the fresh ’90s music pumping, the smell of cheap pizza that I’d eat tonight if I could, and my fellow classmates having a blast. But there was one friend, three years my senior, who didn’t put on skates that day. He didn’t even play the arcade games. He was posted up near the arcade, playing his Game Boy. I asked why he would do such a thing when he could be playing one of the arcade games. He said, “Why would I spend money on that when I can play Metroid II?” I knew of Metroid II, of course, but if this guy was able to ignore Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rampage, and P.O.W., then this game had to be good. I wanted Metroid II from that day forward. Eventually, I did get to play Metroid II. I borrowed it from my cousin, but it would be years before I owned my own copy. It was hard, but I prevailed. Now Metroid II is in semi-regular rotation for me, and I play through it often. I think it’s great. When I think back to that day in the roller rink, I wonder: if I’d been holding the Game Boy and Metroid II, would I have also been content with just Metroid II against a sea of flashy upright arcade cabinets?

I asked why he would do such a thing when he could be playing one of the arcade games. He said, “Why would I spend money on that when I can play Metroid II?” [2/2]

Samus holding a Game Boy, a pixelated Metroid pops from the screen. A lightly colored arcade is behind her.

Metroid II: Return of Samus (Game Boy | 1991)

"But there was one friend, three years my senior, who didn’t put on skates that day. He didn’t even play the arcade games. He was posted up near the arcade, playing his Game Boy." [1/2]

I love it. I had my old dresser full of Nintendo Topps stickers (and TMNT pie stickers). Loved those things!

Simon Belmont ready to storm Dracula's Castle.

I originally drew this for the first issue of Hand-Drawn Gaming.

Thanks!

Thank you so much! I hope this one turns out just as good if not better!

Thank you so much!

Eventually and thank you!

Nope you're good. Going to try and have this thing nearly complete by the time we do another.

Mega Man 2 logo drawn on paper.

I probably won't show much HDGG: Mega Man 2 progress for a while, but this afternoon I created the first piece for the book... the logo!

The past couple of weeks I've been replaying the game, working out tips, and writing the story and character bios. So, things are moving.

Mega Man making his way through Elec Man's Tower in Dr. Wily's Revenge.

This is a really difficult stage. I debated whether it should be the 2nd stage in the route when writing the book, but Elec Man's weapon is so useful that it's worth the player's frustration upfront to make the game easier.

Damn that's awesome.

Yep they do it on pretty much every Worlds of Power cover.

Getting back into the swing of things after an extended break. I needed a bunch of new supplies and also decided to get some "research" material.

Love to see it!

UPDATE

Thanks to some refresher notes from @heyphilsummers.bsky.social Hand Drawn Game Guides, I have once again defeated Ganon and saved Hyrule.

Good question but looking that way.

Some of them were in really bad shape and a little gross. I already trashed maybe 10 of them. I did hold onto these early issues that don't have a cover. I already know I have these but well we'll see!

I have a lot of these already but most of them are in great shape and still have posters and trading cards attached. So I'm going to slowly go through everything and see where I can upgrade. A handful of other mags were in here too!

My sister moved into a new house a few years ago and my brother in law found a storage area above their garage that apparently had a ton of Nintendo Power mags just sitting up there. He gave me the whole thing last night. Incredible haul!

Thanks!

Famicase submissions opened today, and I’m back after several years away! Here are some of the cartridge designs I made from previous years.

Thanks!

It had a very limited run of 200 copies and was part of a double sided book including Ninja Gaiden.

Contra was the first game I ever made a guide for. Hard to believe that was 8 years ago. I didn’t really know what I was doing. I just knew I wanted to draw an entire game. It’s light on tips because the focus was more on maps and characters. To color it I used ancient markers I had from college.

There are even more goodies inside the actual game case! Stickers, fold out poster, art print and a soundtrack download. Insane!

Screenshot from the starting area of Bomb Man's stage.

From there, I reimagined the stage as taking place on top of one of the spheres to heighten the danger and scale. The story section in the book grew out of that concept.

Credit to @vgmaps.bsky.social for the original map screen used for comparison. [2/2]

Drawn Map of Bomb Man's stage from Mega Man 1. Taking place on one of the huge sphere towers.

Original Bomb Man map.

Drawn map of Bomb Man’s stage from Mega Man.

The sphere towers in the background always made the level feel massive to me, so I wanted to play up the sense of scale in this setting.

I then wondered, what if Bomb Man was threatening to topple one of these towers from the inside? [1/2]

I'd really like to get Crow Country as well!

I'm so glad to hear you're happy with it! Thank you for your patience on the delivery as well. Take care!